Opportunity rover struggles with flash memory problems
NASA's Opportunity Mars rover, also known as "Oppy", is continuing its traverse southward on the western rim of Endeavour Crater despite computer resets and "amnesia" that have occurred after reformatting the rover's flash memory. The problems have forced the controllers to switch the robot to a working mode that avoids use of the flash data-storage system. In the no-flash mode, the rover can continue normal operations of science observations and driving, though it cannot store data during the overnight sleep. The good news is, the restoring of the rover's flash memory will begin soon. "Testing of a work-around to mask the faulty bank of flash will begin shortly after the Christmas-New-Year break," Guy Webster, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) spokesman told astrowatch.net.